Sorghum is primarily grown as animal feed in the US. Sorghum and rice are used generally for this purpose.
Nutritionists and health professionals recommend eating whole grains, natural fiber, vegetables, fruits and low fat dairy products. Whole grains give one some natural fiber and important nutrients, while fruits and vegetables also provide critical fiber with a whole variety of antioxidants which are believed to help maintain good health, combat inflammation, neutralize damaging free radicals in our bodies and make other essential contributions to well being.
One benefit of the subject invention is thus to have a cereal product, primarily a sorghum flour, having a high content of antioxidant.
A measure of antioxidant capacity of foodstuffs is its Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC). The correlation between the high antioxidant capacity of fruits and vegetables, and the positive impact of diets high in fruits and vegetables, in part due to the high antioxidant capacity of fruits and vegetables, is believed to play an important role in free radical theory of aging.
Sorghum is also gluten free in contrast to other grains such as wheat or oats. Fiber is also present in sorghum bran and sorghum whole grain. Fiber, antioxidants and lack of gluten, combined with its relatively bland taste make sorghum desirable for use in consumer foods, such as breakfast cereal, bread, pancake mix and others. Further, when high tannin sorghum is used in such consumer foods, the antioxidant activity is increased commensurate with the increase of the ORAC values.